


You Say You Want A Revolution

by realityisoverrated



Series: Infinite Love [22]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, Smoaking billionaires, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 06:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6742087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realityisoverrated/pseuds/realityisoverrated
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While preparing for an important board meeting, Oliver and Felicity have a heart to heart about their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Say You Want A Revolution

**Author's Note:**

> This story depicts a polyamorous relationship between one woman and two men. If this is not something you are interested in, please stop and go no further.
> 
> This fic is set one month after Burger & Lies. Many of you have been asking for Oliver's perspective on Felicity's lie about the townhouse being up for sale. Things aren't as resolved with Oliver as Felicity thought.
> 
> Thank you for continuing support of this series. Your comments and kudos continue to provide me with motivation to keep writing. The last installment had a lot of long time readers becoming first time commenters, which was lovely.
> 
> I'm not telling this series in chronological order. Some readers have requested that I provide a chronological order for the fics in the series. There is no need to read them in chronological order, but in case you'd like to the list is below.  
> 1\. The First Time (Part 1)  
> 2\. The Italian Restaurant (Part 3)  
> 3\. Do The Hustle (Part 21)  
> 4\. Wherever You Are, There I Am (Part 8)  
> 5\. Perfect (Part 16)  
> 6\. Practical Jokes and Other Misunderstandings (Part 14)  
> 7\. Cobble Hill (Part 4)  
> 8\. House Warming (Part 15)  
> 9\. Twenty Questions Over Brunch (Part 11)  
> 10\. Hildy (Part 5)  
> 11\. Burgers & Lies (Part 9)  
> 12\. You Say You Want A Revolution (Part 22)  
> 13\. Look Me In The Eye And Make Me Feel The Truth (Part 12)  
> 14\. Fight Night (Part 20)  
> 15\. Will You Still Love Me, Tomorrow? (Part 7)  
> 16\. Into Thin Air (Part 17)  
> 17\. Up All Night (Part 6)  
> 18\. Welcome Home (Part 10)  
> 19\. Home Is Where You Are (Part 2)  
> 20\. Three (Part 13)  
> 21\. Life Lived In The Tabloids (Part 18)  
> 22\. Prudence Chastity (Part 19)
> 
> Welcome to any new readers who have stumbled into this universe. The more the merrier.
> 
> Arrow and its characters do not belong to me.

“Are we sure these numbers are right?” Oliver asked with uncertainty as he stared at his laptop.

It was well after midnight and Felicity and Oliver had been going over the presentation he planned to deliver to the board since seven that morning. As soon as it turned midnight Felicity had slipped out of her five inch heels and crawled onto the boardroom table. She was laying on the center of the table staring at Oliver’s presentation that she’d moved the projector to project onto the ceiling. A day in heels and an unfortunate fall earlier in the week while she was out in the field (Oliver still wasn’t speaking to Roy) had sent her back into spasms and she was in pain. There was a bottle of muscle relaxers in her purse, but she needed her mind sharp. Oliver was about to take QC in a radically different direction and they expected to meet a lot of resistance from the board. “We audited every single one of those projects to be one hundred percent sure.” She gestured towards the ceiling, “I went over every single number we got from finance. These numbers are right.”

Oliver flipped through several slides until he reached those that focused on Applied Sciences, “Are we sure we want to start with the battery? It won’t be a quick win. You’re projecting we won’t see any revenue from this project for at least ten years.”

Felicity was a little surprised by his question. They’d been planning this move for almost a year. “If we want to start a green technology revolution here at QC, the battery will let the world know how serious we are.”

“We’re asking our board to approve our decision to non-renew all of our military contracts. That’s three hundred billion dollars of revenue over the next five years. We’re going to try to convince them to get out of the weapons business and get into the green business with a battery that won’t make us a nickel for at least ten years and is going to cost us over a hundred million in R&D. Maybe we should lead with the solar panels. We’re set to start making a profit with them in the first quarter and we’re introducing the next gen in 3Q.”

“Which is why you’ll be talking about them in two slides,” Felicity twirled her finger in the air to encourage Oliver to advance to the solar panel numbers.

Oliver moved to the slides Felicity requested, “I just think we should start with these because we’ll be making money on these in less than a year.”

Felicity lifted herself up onto her elbows to look at Oliver, “The solar panels won’t even come close to replacing the revenue we’re giving up on the military contracts. We’ll look naïve at best, disingenuous at worst if we try to make it seem like we think the solar panels equate to the missile guidance systems.” She frowned at the look of uncertainty on his face, “Why are you asking this now? Are you having second thoughts about our strategy?”

Oliver pushed his laptop to the side and rested his forearms on the table, “No, of course not. I can’t live with myself knowing that our company is making money off the deaths of so many people all over the world. I don’t want to be in the death business anymore, but I also have forty-five thousand people whose livelihoods depend on me making smart decisions. I nearly ruined this company when I trusted Isabel. I don’t want to fail everyone again.”

Felicity chose to ignore the implication that Oliver was equating trusting her with trusting Isabel. She knew he didn’t mean it the way it came out, but it still stung. “We’re asking the board and ultimately the investors to take a leap of faith with us. Not everyone is going to support this decision, but luckily you, Thea, Walter and Tommy have the majority of the voting shares.” She pointed her index finger up at the ceiling, “This is merely a formality and a courtesy. They can all say no and it won’t matter.”

“If we don’t have a unanimous agreement from the board, the investors will run. We can’t start a revolution if we’re bankrupt.”

“Yes, we’ll probably lose some investors, but the world is changing.” Felicity smiled at Oliver, “We aren’t the only people who want the world to be a better place. More and more people are demanding that their investments be made with green, ethical and humane companies. I think we’ll see investors seek us out for our position.”

“Those investors will still expect returns. They won’t give us money if they don’t think that we’ll make them money.”

“And we will make them money.”

“But not for ten years,” he said angrily as he pushed away from the table.

Felicity struggled to sit up in her form fitting skirt, “Hey, what’s going on? Ten years isn’t a long time to develop this type of technology.”

“Are you even going to be here in ten years?” Oliver rubbed his fingers together.

“Oliver?” She scooted to the edge of the table and stood on the cool marble floor in her bare feet, “What are you talking about? Of course I will be. Where else would I be?”

“Have you put your townhouse on the market?”

“No, not yet,” Felicity blinked in confusion.

“You said you were going to do it a month ago after we all talked.” Oliver sunk his hands into his pockets, “You said you believed us when we told you that we’re in love with you. You said that you were going to call Polly and put the townhouse back on the market.”

“What, are you checking for the listing every day?” she asked half joking. “Are you looking to buy it?”

“Yes,” he answered simply.

“Yes, you’re checking for the listing every day or yes, that you plan on buying it?” she could feel her anger start to bubble towards the surface.

“Yes to both of them,” he said unapologetically.

“What the hell are you going to do with my townhouse?”

“Nothing. I was going to have one of my holdings make you an all cash offer for your asking price and then I was going to sell it.”

Felicity took a deep breath in an attempt to keep her loud voice from escaping, “If you wanted to buy my townhouse why didn’t you just ask me to sell it to you? We could save on the realtor’s commission,” she said sarcastically.

“Why haven’t you listed it?”

“When exactly over the past month would I have had time to deal with listing my townhouse? Between this presentation and Danny Brickwell, I’m lucky if I get to pee twice a day.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Felicity. I’m the resident expert on excuses. It would take you thirty seconds to call Polly if you really wanted to sell it.”

“You are such a control freak,” she said as realization began to dawn on her. “You actually think that if you buy the house as soon as it is on the market, I won’t leave.”

“Oliver looked away, shame evident on his face, “It’s been a month and you’re still one foot in and one foot out of this relationship. I thought if the townhouse was gone, then you’d have to- “

“Don’t you dare say stay,” she said angrily pointing her finger into his chest until she backed him into a wall. “What century are we living in? Do you honestly think I won’t break up with you if I don’t have another house on standby? You do realize I don’t need to live with two billionaires? I don’t need you to financially support me. Please, tell me you aren’t that much of a caveman.”

“Of course not,” he yelled. “You don’t need me. You’ve never needed me.” Oliver covered his face with his hands and sank onto the floor. “You don’t need me.” He hugged his knees and lowered his head.

Felicity stood over Oliver completely stunned, “What are you talking about?” She gingerly lowered herself to sit beside him, “Of course I need you.”

He shook his head, “No, you don’t.” Oliver looked at her with eyes swimming with unshed tears, “You’re remarkable. You could go anywhere and still be you. Lucius Fox calls you almost daily with a job offer. I’m not a genius, but I still know that I’d rather work for him than for me. You don’t need me to be amazing, but I’d be lost without you. I don’t know how to do any of this without you. I don’t know how to be a CEO, or the Arrow or Oliver without you.”

She squeezed his forearm, “That’s ridiculous, of course I need you – even when you refer to yourself in the third person.”

He closed his eyes, “You told me that you would be done with me when we found Walter.”

“Oliver, we found Walter more than three years ago,” she said in disbelief.

He nodded, “I know and I’ve been waiting that long for you to remember that you’re way too good for me and to run as far and as fast from me as you can.”

“I don’t understand.” Felicity winced as her back spasmed.  She breathed through the pain before she continued speaking, “We’ve been a team for four years, in a relationship for almost two and you think that I’m suddenly going to remember that I was supposed to walk away when we found Walter?”

“I know what I get out of our relationship. I know why I’m in love with you. I can’t figure out what you get from me other than watching me on the salmon ladder.”

“You’re joking?” she asked trying not to be offended. “You honestly don’t really believe that the only reason that I’m with you is because of your abs?”

“I’m not smart like you. I’m lucky if I follow a quarter of what you tell me when we’re talking about what’s in that presentation. I know that if it weren’t for you, I would’ve lost this company a long time ago. I wouldn’t have lived this long without you. I know I don’t remotely deserve someone like you.” He squeezed her hand, “When I came back from Lian Yu I was broken and then I walked into your office.” Oliver smiled as he remembered, “There was just something about you.”

“Yeah, I was chewing on a pen,” she remembered with embarrassment.

“It was red,” he said with certainty.

“Yeah,” she said with a whisper. She’d been chewing on a red pen when he walked into her office full of confidence and lies. She had prayed that the floor would open up and swallow her whole after she babbled about Robert’s death. She never expected him to remember such a trivial detail, but she wasn’t really surprised that he did.

“For five years, it was all I could do to stay alive. I never knew who I could trust and when that goes on for so long you start seeing everyone as a threat or a target. When I came home, I didn’t know how to turn that off.” He tilted his head and smiled softly, “You were the first person I saw as a person.”

Oliver was a blur as she looked at him through tear filled eyes, “Oliver.”

“I even saw my mom, Thea, Tommy, Laurel, Dig and Walter as threats. Every interaction I had with them was calculated. I was actively lying to them in order to protect my secret – and not just being the Hood. I was terrified they’d see me for what I was – a monster.”

“You lied to me too,” Felicity reminded him.

“After Lawton’s laptop, I didn’t need to go to you again. It was actually pretty stupid of me to keep going to you. Deep down I knew you’d figure out who I was, but I looked for every excuse to see you again. I researched you. I followed you. I knew what kind of person you were and as much as I told myself to stay away from you, I couldn’t stop myself. I’ve always been selfish, especially when it comes to you.” Oliver took her hand and placed it over his heart, “I sought you out because you made me feel something.”

Felicity dropped her head onto his shoulder as she felt his heart thrum beneath her fingers. She was overcome with emotions and she couldn’t find the words to express what she was feeling. So much of what happened to him over those five years remained a mystery. He’d slowly been opening up to Tommy and her but they still only knew a fraction of his past. To hear him confess how damaged he was when he came home made her sad for what he’d suffered but proud of how far he’d come. She felt silly that she’d been so focused on her own fears about their relationship that she hadn’t realized that Oliver had fears of his own. He always seemed fearless about everything that she sometimes forgot that he expected to lose the people he loved.

“I won’t lie to you and tell you that I knew I was in love with you back then. I wasn’t capable of it, but I knew that I needed you if I wanted to live and not just survive. You made me a better person – no, you made me want to be a better person. I wanted to be the man you kept telling me that I was. I still do.”

“You are that man, Oliver. I have always believed in you,” she said as she wiped tears from her eyes.

The tears finally spilled from his eyes. “Yes, but I don’t know why,” he said with his voice thick with emotion.

She smiled, “I told you the first time I met you at Big Belly to give you Walter’s copy of the notebook. I’ve always trusted you. There was just something about you and it wasn’t your beautiful face. You want to know why I stayed? Why I still stay? Why I love you?”

Oliver nodded eagerly, “Yes.”

“When you walked into my office, I wasn’t living. I was just surviving after Coop’s death and I was only going through the motions - half asleep. You woke me up and reminded me of who I was supposed to be. You taught me how to be braver than I ever thought possible. You taught me how to fight for what is right even when it would be easier to walk away. You taught me how to be strong. You made me want to be a better person. You made me want to be the woman you kept telling me I was. You tell me that I’m remarkable, but I never truly believed that about myself until you showed me.”

“Thank you,” he whispered against her lips, “I love you.”

“I love you,” she kissed him tenderly. When they broke apart she smiled, “You can’t buy my townhouse.”

“I know, it’s not on the market,” he teased.

“Even when it’s on the market, which it will be, soon, you can’t buy it.” She ran her knuckles down his scruff, “You need to trust me when I tell you that I’m all in – both feet are in - and whether I have the townhouse or not that isn’t changing. I know it’s hard for you not to be in control of everything. I understand that part of you, I really do, but I need you to understand that this is something you can’t control.”

“I promise, I won’t buy the townhouse or have Tommy buy the townhouse.” He rested his forehead against hers, “I do trust you. I did from the moment I met you.”

“Good, then trust me when I say, lead with the battery,” she said with the confidence of knowing that she would do whatever it took to make sure that Oliver’s vision for QC was fulfilled.

He nodded, “You’re right. We’re not doing this to be timid. If we want a revolution, we have to be bold.” He rose to his feet and offered her a hand. He gently helped her to her feet. “How about you take a muscle relaxer while I straighten up in here and I’ll give you a massage when we get home?”

Felicity moaned as she picked up her shoes. There wasn’t any way she was putting them back on, she’d have to walk through the garage barefoot, “That sounds like heaven.”

He kissed the top of her head, “Give me two minutes.”

“Hey, Oliver,” she said from the doorway.

He looked up from where he was disconnecting his laptop from the projector, “Yeah?”

“I will always need you,” she said simply.

He smiled, “Good, because life without you by my side is unthinkable.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always welcomed and appreciated.
> 
> It turns out that weather delays and a change in scenery have been good for my productivity.
> 
> Any ideas or prompts for what you'd like to read in this universe are always welcome.


End file.
